Pressing issues such as Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court, the recent synagogue massacre, and the Honduran migrant caravan are some of many current events that are receiving a lot of media coverage. The question is, should we be exposing teens to these events in history class?
Sitting in a history class, a student may wonder, “How is learning about the past going to help me in the future?” While some may argue that the American Constitution is completely useless on a global scale or that Watergate is no longer of political relevance, the opposite is true. Familiarizing oneself with these incidents provides a strong foundation that one can use to understand the occurrences that are going on today.
In today’s world, one cannot talk about government scandals without knowing about Watergate. You can’t talk about equal rights if you don’t know the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And you can’t talk about events occurring around the world today, if you don’t know the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution.
Despite being equipped with this knowledge, many Americans are currently focusing solely on the negative domestic and international events. As founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, once said “Headlines, in a way, are what mislead you because bad news is a headline, and gradual improvement is not.” In simple terms, a cynical story sells.
While I strongly believe that current events are vital to the nourishment of the rising generation, I also think that it is equally important to know American history in order to truly comprehend why global events make a difference in the long run. People often base their opinions off of their cultural beliefs or societal norms. They usually don’t have a firm understanding of what actually revolves around the event.
For example, more than 27 million people are currently enslaved. While today’s media highlights the astounding number of those who are enslaved today, it does so without putting this statistic into perspective; in other words, many fail to realize that 27 million slaves is the tiniest fraction of the total number of slaves who ever existed. It’s all a matter of perspective.
In short, while high-school history classes should teach current events, students must dissect the information that is presented to them. In applying their knowledge of history to current day events, students can attain a deeper understanding of how the world works.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Sangeet Anand of Churchill High School